I'm considering purchasing a 2001-2002 Forester, either a L or S model. I began to think I would prefer the S model, assuming it has a moonroof and a few more bells, etc. but, I am coming across differing info that either a 2001 S or later 2002 S would have side air bags. That in itself isn't much of a problem, yet, I often swap out seats in the older cars for something more supportive. So, if I buy a 2001 S and then wish to install seats from a 2004 up Forester, I might run into problems connecting the airbag seats correctly. I believe once the system senses a disconnect, it actually turns off the other airbags used.... this could be a lot of trouble...

anyone know if its the 2001 model year or the 2002 model year for S's to have side airbags?

Our '01S came with cloth seats and seat airbags, as did our '02S with leather.

It is my understanding that you can swap any Forester or Impreza seat through 2006 into the older Foresters and be able to plug and play with the airbags. If you get a seat that doesn't have an airbag, you can get resistors to plug into the car to make the car think you have airbags and keep all of your other airbags operational, and turn the light off.

I also thought that if there were no seat airbags, and the air bag light was on, the front airbags would still work.